Estes Park Parents as Teachers presents: free family night

Special to the Trail-Gazette

Posted:
03/11/2013 09:37:33 AM MDT

Estes Park Parents as Teachers Program is hosting monthly Free Family Nights for families with young children ages 0-5 years. The next Free Family Night will be Thursday, March 14, 5:30- 7:30 p.m. The Family Night will include a family dinner, parent/child activity, followed by adult discussion with childcare provided.

March's topic is Loud Music and Your Childs Hearing. Wendy Koenig Aud. will talk about what constitutes loud music how it effects your child's hearing, She will also answer parents' questions. The Quota Club of Estes Park is sponsoring the evening. Kathleen Anderson will lead the Parent/Child Activity. The Quota Club is also supplying dinner. Family Night is held at the Community Church of the Rockies, 1700 Brodie Avenue. Reservations are required by March 11. For reservations please call Karin Steers, at 970-646-5840 or email her at ksteers@evics.org.

The Family Nights will be the second Thursday of the month September through May. The Free Family Nights will include family dinner, parent/child activity, followed by adult discussion with childcare provided. Each month there will be a topic relevant to parents with children ages 0-5 years.

Parents as Teachers (PAT) is an evidenced based international program that is 25 years old. The goals of PAT are to increase parent knowledge of early childhood development and improve parenting practices, provide early detection of developmental delays and health issues, and increase children's school readiness and school success. This is accomplished through personal visits where the parent educators share research-based information and utilize evidence-based practices by partnering with parents. Parents are the primary and best teachers of their children.

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The PAT Parent educators' role is to support and educate the parents of children 0-5 years of age. Families in the PAT Program receive monthly personal visits customized for the need of each family, monthly group meetings, health and developmental screenings, and connecting parents with local resources.

In February of 2011, Estes Valley Investment in Childhood Success (EVICS) decided to bring the Parents as Teachers Program to Estes Park to better serve families of young children. EVICS goal is to promote and support quality early childhood care and education in the Estes Valley. They provide free childcare referrals and information, parent education and support through Parenting Classes and the PAT Program, childcare/preschool scholarships to qualifying families using licensed programs, and free developmental and health screenings through a community partnership with qualified professionals. The Parents as Teachers Program is a natural fit to better serve families of young children in Estes Valley.